There aren’t many months that go by without a trip to Manchester. It’s right on our doorstep. It’s the gateway to one of my happiest of happy places at Old Trafford. It’s where I change trains to find my way home to Clitheroe. It’s a place for theatre trips, gigs, concerts, comedy nights, Christmas markets, crazy golf, cocktails, afternoon tea, festivals, races, museums, admiring the street art, parkrun, exhibitions, anniversary dinners, meeting up with family and friends.
In 2025, there’s been an anniversary dinner, lots of cricket, two concerts – Snow Patrol and Tim Minchin, a guitar pyramid (something to do with the music festival) and a weekend with my sister and nieces. I’m sure Mr T has been to either the Football Museum or the Imperial War Museum North at least once.
We’ve got lots of experience of making the most of the few hours that we have – whether we’re just passing through, going for a day or night out, or staying for a couple of days. We find new places to explore and visit old favourites too. Sometimes we catch the last train home.
Our most recent trip lasted less than 24 hours – but we still packed a lot in.
Almost on time into Piccadilly, we checked into our appropriately weather-themed hotel. Then there was time for quick wander through the arcades (diverting to a bookshop of course), before Mr T set off for cricket-watching at Old Trafford (and what a match he saw) and I headed back to Piccadilly Gardens to meet up with friends.
I sat in the sun (yes, it was warm and dry enough to sit in the sun) for a spot of live music of variable quality and dancing from a not-quite sober man, whilst waiting for my friend to arrive. Then there was dinner – a very tasty Burrito bowl – and a quick walk down to the O2 Apollo for a significant night of comedy with Elis, John and producer Dave. It was good to catch up with friends and laugh along with all our favourite parts of the podcast (no spoilers).
Saturday morning started with a parkrun – we jumped on the tram in Piccadilly Gardens and we were at Philips Park about 25 minutes later. We’ve tried to get here before, but transport issues diverted us to Alexandra parkrun last time instead. It was a loopy up-and-down out-and-back course, where the marshals encouraged and supported on almost every corner. There were some great murals underneath the arches by the finish line. We enjoyed it, but couldn’t hang around for too long – checkout was a frustratingly and not very parkrun-friendly 11 o’clock.
Once checked out, we decided to re-visit Ezra and Gill on Peter Street- it’s fast becoming our favourite brunch/lunch/coffee/cake stop whenever we’re in Manchester. it’s even worth queueing in the rain to get a table. Smashed avocado on sourdough for me today.
The Manchester weather was having some fun with us – heavy rain returned just as we were finishing our food. Fortunately, another of our favourite places to pop-in-to-whilst was passing is just around the corner – saved by a library again. You never know what you’ll find at Manchester Central Library. This time it was Punk and the Art of Rebellion on the first floor – Mr T was engrossed. I took a walk around the Wolfson Reading Room – and found a photography exhibition for the 20th anniversary of the Manchester Literary Festival – From Page to Stage. Back round to admire the Shakespeare window and it was time to go.
The rain stopped and it was time to head back to the station and home.
Another day in Manchester. I’m sure we’ll be back again soon.
This post is part of a series capturing the essence of the 27 Hours in Twizel blog – when we found ourselves in a an unlikely tourist destination for 27 hours and found 27 reasons to stay.
27 Hours In Twizel 